Dynamic Key Assignment for Multi-Level Menu Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current user interfaces for cellularly communicative devices, such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants, suffer from inefficiencies due to static key assignments and nested menus that require users to navigate complex paths to find desired functions, leading to increased time and effort in searching for selections.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that provide a user interface with concurrently displayed menu levels, allowing users to freely advance a cursor to select choices and dynamically assign key functions based on the user's selection, enabling dynamic key assignments that change depending on the chosen function.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If nested menus are provided with multiple user selectable options and choices, then the device can provide numerous functional groupings and choices, but the user requires substantial time and effort to search for desired selections
Solution Approach 1:
The display screen is segmented into multiple concurrent menu levels, allowing users to view and access different functional groupings and choices simultaneously across different levels rather than traversing through nested menus sequentially. Each menu level can be independently navigated, reducing search time while maintaining comprehensive functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-level nested menu structure to a multi-level concurrent display structure, adding a dimensional aspect to menu navigation. Users can move between menu levels and navigate within each level, creating a two-dimensional navigation space that reduces the depth of navigation required while preserving access to all functions.
2Ease of operation
If static key assignments are used for device keys, then the key functions are simple and consistent, but users must memorize key functions or consult user manuals to accurately determine assigned functions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic key assignments where key functions change based on the currently selected menu level and choice. The system automatically updates key assignments to reflect the contextual relevance of different functions, eliminating the need for users to memorize static key functions while maintaining operational simplicity through context-aware adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The key assignment parameters are dynamically changed based on the user's navigation state and selected menu level. Instead of fixed key functions, the system adjusts key assignments in real-time to match the current operational context, ensuring that relevant functions are always accessible without requiring user memorization or reference materials.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a large number of functions are provided in the device, then the device functionality is comprehensive, but every key on the keypad must represent an assigned operation and additional keys might be needed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes each key universal by implementing dynamic key assignments that allow the same physical key to represent different functions depending on the current menu level and selection context. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for additional keys while maintaining comprehensive device functionality, as each key adapts to serve the most relevant function in the current operational context.
Solution Approach 2:
The key assignment system dynamically adjusts to provide comprehensive functionality without requiring a proportional increase in the number of physical keys. Each key's function is determined dynamically based on the user's current position in the menu structure and the selected operational context, allowing a limited number of keys to access a large number of device functions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for providing a user interface over a display screen of a cellularly communicative electronic device are disclosed. One such method can include the steps of: (i) concurrently providing on a first display screen, a first menu level providing one or more functional groupings and a second menu level providing one or more choices within at least one of the functional groupings; (ii) permitting a user to advance a cursor freely across the first menu level and the second menu level to select a desired choice within the one or more choices; and (iii) providing at least a second display screen in response to the selection of the desired choice, wherein a dynamic key assignment is displayed for a key included in a device keypad and wherein the dynamic key assignment is a function of the desired choice.